


[Meta] Mad Max: Fury Road

by Spatz



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Drinking Games, Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Meta, Meta Essay, Nonfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Timelines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 03:51:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17655545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spatz/pseuds/Spatz
Summary: A collection of meta and miscellany pulled from Tumblr before the inevitable happens.





	1. Fury Road timeline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Preserved at the Internet Archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204040918/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/124453846780/fury-road-timeline) with images and linked pages // [original Tumblr post](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/124453846780/fury-road-timeline)

Mostly for my own reference, I’ve been sorting out the internal chronology of the movie (since we’ve [already](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/123220572105/primarybufferpanel-cactusspatz) had [plenty ](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/123437361830/fukushima-50)of [speculation ](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/124443677150/apocalypse-building-probably)about the pre-movie timeline) -- and I came across a few unexpected things.

**Day X: Max is captured and brought to the Citadel**

  * unknown amount of time as a bloodbag - probably [at least a month](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/124124484210/did-max-actually-get-branded)



**Day 1: Furiosa leaves the Citadel  
**

Judging by the shadows, Furiosa appears to drive away in the late morning:

[screencap of the War Rig convoy driving south towards Gas Town: full daylight, crisp shadows falling to the right]

(She turns left off this road later and says “we’re heading east”, therefore the sun is high to the east at this point.)

Max stealing the rig, the canyon chase, and Angharad’s death all happen in full daylight, midday to late afternoon to my eye. (Doylistically, using the shadows is absurd because this was a film and they probably shot whenever the light was acceptable, and the shadows in fact switch angles a lot over this chase, but shhh let me have my fun)

The sun is setting as Capable talks to Nux and Furiosa does repairs:

[screencap: the War Rig with the setting sun behind it]

and we’re told the the Green Place is “a long night’s run” east.

**Night 1: The Swamp  
**

They get stuck in the mud, chased by the Bullet Farmer, and drive through the Green Place --

[screencap of the Crow Fisher in the bog]

probably in the early hours of the morning, going by Furiosa’s estimate. (everyone is still awake, but I know I wouldn’t be sleeping after that fight either!)

**Day 2 + Night 2: The Vuvalini**

It’s mid-to-late morning again when Max wakes up from his nightmare:

[screencap of Max waking up in the War Rig; full daylight is apparently in their surroundings]

They’re still heading east, and the light’s coming in at an angle. Voila, morning!

The sun’s directly overhead when they reach the Vuvalini bait trap, but then casting some dramatic shadows when Furiosa does her scream on the sand dune:

[Furiosa staggering away across the sand dune]

Let’s just call it afternoon and roll around in the gorgeous, shall we?

Then they spend the night at the Vuvalini camp.

**Day 3: Turning Around**

Max rides after the women in the morning (shadows are inconclusive, but it can’t have taken them long to pack).

Here’s where it gets tricky: I _think_ they’re spotted by the war parties back near the canyon entrance, in the foothills/sanddunes, on the western side of the former Green Place. Otherwise they would have gotten bogged down! And it kinda makes sense that Joe retreated back out of the marsh after the Bullet Farmer disappeared, to repair his vehicles and send out scouts.

Which means that the climactic fight must take place in the late afternoon, for them to have driven all the way from the edge of the Salt back past the Green Place to the canyon (”a long night’s run”).

And hey look, there’s another sunset to prove it!

[screencap of the Gigahorse driving into the sunset; way to reference Western films, George]

Which leads me to suggest -- *flamethrowing guitar drumroll* -- 

**Day 4: Return to the Citadel**

[screencap of the Gigahorse with Joe's body in front of the Citadel lift] ****

I know, I know. A whole other day! I’m kinda dubious about it myself. There’s a few points either way for having them return on the same day they kill Joe vs the next morning. 

On the morning side, we have a) the sun’s almost set but b) they still need to drive through Buzzard territory and c) Furiosa still has to regain consciousness. Also, her right eye goes from open:

[screencap of Furiosa lying in the back of the Gigahorse]

to swollen completely shut:  
[screencap of Furiosa standing on the lift at the end of the movie, looking down at Max]

and I have no idea how long that takes (minutes? hours?) They could theoretically have camped out for the night, made a plan, and driven up with maximum theatricality in the morning. (someone had to carefully place Joe on the hood like that, etc.)

On the other hand, a) they would have every reason to rush back and claim the Citadel, b) Furiosa appears to be even MORE covered in blood than when she was dying and Toast has a large bloody untreated cut across her cheek, but c) Max has somehow wiped all the blood off his face for maximum pretty.

(ngl, now I’m hoping someone will write fic where Furiosa doesn’t wake up right away and night falls with them still in hostile territory, and someone has to force Max take out the IV beforehe exsanguinates himself trying to save her, and when Furiosa finally wakes up at dawn, she finds everyone passed out in exhaustion except for the Vuvalini standing watch -- and Max, still sitting vigil over her.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (an excellent example of how hoping "someone" will Write That Fic results in YOU [writing that fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4488546/chapters/30164307))


	2. Fury Road drinking game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Preserved at the Internet Archive](http://web.archive.org/web/20190204013311/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/173946235405/mad-max-drinking-game) with links // [original Tumblr post](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/173946235405/mad-max-drinking-game)

On the third anniversary of Mad Max: Fury Road being released, @inmyriadbits and I very diligently tested out this drinking game for the benefit of the fandom. (I borrowed a couple of items from here and here, but otherwise came up with my own)

DRINK ONCE:

-when a smoke signal appears

-when Max says, “That’s my ____!”

-when Furiosa uses a sniper rifle

-WITNESS!!! (ie, when someone calls for a witness or is witnessed)

-when a steering wheel is shown not attached to a vehicle

-when Max hallucinates Glory the Child (auditory and/or visual)

-when the boltcutters are used

ADVANCED LEVEL

-drink whenever a vehicle flips over (minimum 180 degree rotation, either car or motorcycle)

-chug whenever someone eats a live animal

n.b. drinking at the advanced level, I finished four glasses of wine and @inmyriadbits finished two glasses of whiskey & soda. Obviously this is influenced by your sip size (I was being liberal, she was being frugal), but please drink wisely according to your own tolerance and whether you have to work tomorrow morning. I would NOT recommend trying either level with exclusively hard liquor/shots.


	3. Max used to live next to the sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Preserved at the Internet Archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204042358/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/122697290755/i-finally-watched-the-first-mad-max-movie-and-why) with images and links // [original Tumblr post](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/122697290755/i-finally-watched-the-first-mad-max-movie-and-why)

I finally watched the first Mad Max movie, and _why is no one else heartbroken_ about the fact that Max used to live next to the sea, in a house full of plants, and drove a colorful station wagon with a fantastical moonscape mural on the side?

I was pleasantly surprised watching the movie, because I’ve seen it described as a typical revenge story so many times – and it is, plot-wise. The partner dies, his wife and son get fridged, even his dog is murdered. 

But there’s _no fucking catharsis._ He doesn’t even kill Toecutter directly. There’s no satisfying ‘gloat’ at the end, when he gets his bloody revenge on Johnny Boy. The setup with the handcuffs and the hacksaw is chilling and disturbing and nearly-wordless, a gruesome act perpetrated on a kid who actually fought NOT to kill Goose – and then Max drives away without even looking back at the explosion.

I think it’s no mistake that he doesn’t drive the Interceptor until after Jessie and Sprog die. It’s the most colorless car in the whole series, despite its beautiful sleek lines. It’s pared down to nothing but the necessary, and it stays that way even when the world around him goes crazy and colorful.

And I think it’s no mistake that the Interceptor is destroyed and then used as a tool of his enemies in Fury Road, or that the first person to give him hope and redemption back is associated with water and green things.

([this post](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204042358/http://bonehandledknife.tumblr.com/post/122432133630/thoughtfulfangirling-bonehandledknife) has more on the parallels over the series. George fucking Miller, everyone. He might not give a shit about the actual timeline continuity, but god he is meticulous with his symbolism and visuals.)


	4. Rewatch notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carefully dusted with hotness powder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Preserved at the Internet Archive with images and links: [third watch](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204044921/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/120838740105/mad-max-fury-road-rewatch), [late-run theatrical watch](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204044932/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/127182999850/i-went-to-my-probably-last-theatrical-viewing-of) // [original](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/120838740105/mad-max-fury-road-rewatch) [posts](http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/127182999850/i-went-to-my-probably-last-theatrical-viewing-of)

Some notes from my third theater viewing:

  * When Max is being dragged behind the cars after he’s captured in the opening, the War Boys are _throwing rocks at him_ , jfc
  * The doorway that Max nearly falls out of trying to escape is a pair of old ambulance doors – you can see a faded [Star of Life](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204044921/https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FStar_of_Life&t=NmU5N2YzZmMzY2U5M2JiZDRmODZiNTdjYzA5OGIzYzZkYzVjMjA4YyxZWXlCdGlydw%3D%3D&b=t%3AMfcqWztmAeGH-OnNz0tRZQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fcactusspatz.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F120838740105%2Fmad-max-fury-road-rewatch&m=0) symbol printed on the windows. Possibly because it’s the level that the Organic Mechanic works on? They must use those cable/hook things for lifting large cargo up to the higher levels – like Max’s car, which we see when he’s trying to escape – and I guess maybe that’s why. (Or they were just the most convenient doors at the time, who knows.)
  * I always forget that the war rig starts off black. It sure doesn’t stay that way for long!
  * The War Rig is definitely carrying three things: water, mother’s milk, and produce. The first two are mentioned in the War Boys’ chant (and used during the escape), Corpus Colossus says “your produce ain’t going to Gastown”, and you can just barely see greenery and woven bags that looks like grain bags in the shots of the Wives hiding in the hold. So the tanker must be subdivided:
    * a hollow section up front for “green” where the Wives hid, and where people can either climb up into the Rig from below or forward into the truck cabin
    * a back section contains the milk, because we can see white liquid fountaining out when they get harpooned in the last chase
    * a separate middle section containing water, which makes sense because that’s about where the hose is attached in the Max/Furiosa fight
  * There’s a surprising amount of technology at the Citadel, either obvious or implied: Immortan Joe uses a microphone during his speech, Max gets zapped with a cattle prod, the Organic Mechanic’s tattoo gun, water pumps, blood typing, hydroponics, oxygen manufacture and compression, equipment for car repair/metal welding (doesn’t that also require pressurized gas? Can/does Gastown supply that for them? Someone who knows more about oil refinery, pls help)
  * They have to have limited electricity to run most of that – [windmills are visible](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204044921/https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fxguide.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F05%2Fct1_317_before.jpg&t=ODIxOWEyMTgwMzBhMDJlNGNjZDAwNGE1NDkzNzY2NmIxZTZjNWIyMyxZWXlCdGlydw%3D%3D&b=t%3AMfcqWztmAeGH-OnNz0tRZQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fcactusspatz.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F120838740105%2Fmad-max-fury-road-rewatch&m=0) on the top of the easter butte, the one with Joe’s skull balcony and the vault, so probably from wind power?
  * But they still mostly use fire to light the hallways
  * Furiosa’s face when she turns off the highway is the _exact same face_ she makes before yelling “Fool!” – like she knows she’s about to make an insane, risky decision, and she’s just praying it will pay off
  * I made out a bit more of Max’s babbling when he’s strung up as a hood decoration:
    * [as they’re passing the Interceptor] “[something about] they take, first it’s my blood, now it’s my car!” 
    * incoherent cursing involving the word ‘fuck’
    * “That’s my head!” [after Slit throws a lance past his face]
  * It’s hard to tell, but I think his voice sounds different on those lines? Lighter, less like he – for instance – was driven through a sandstorm while shouting and massively dehydrated. OTOH, I’m kinda fond of his ridiculous growl, so I might just ignore that.
  * Max’s wrists get ripped to bloody shreds from the lancer’s post restraints; he gets this look of unholy relief on his face when Slit lets him loose, and I think it’s not just because he has a chance to get free.
  * That one motorcycle getting _blown backwards_ by the sandstorm when they drive into it = so great. Great visual, great way to show exactly how strong the winds are, great setup for the larger car getting picked up by the tornado.
  * Furiosa is actually driving *between* two fucking twisters when she rams that car into the tornado! Such a BAMF.
  * credit for this one goes to inmyriadbits – there are only three chastity belts on the ground when Max meets the Wives, because _two of them are already pregnant.  
_
  * You can see it clearly in the wide shot with Nux afterwards:



  * Never gonna be over the moment when Nux drives the rig out of the mud, and Furiosa and Max see each other standing there – you can see them go ‘Wait, who the fuck is driving?!?!’ and turn and run at the same time. <3
  * When Furiosa tells everyone to “stay in the rig” as she goes out to meet the Vuvalini, Max is the only one who _actually stays_ past the initial meeting. Whether that’s because he’s more paranoid than the rest, or listens to Furiosa more, or thought he should stay as getaway driver just in case, is up to you. :D
  * But the way he looks after Furiosa screaming out her pain on that sand dune – like his heart is breaking for her, just this total empathy. Oh Max. Oh Furiosa. I love how you two get each other, I just wish you didn’t understand each other so well over *this*.
  * The way Max scrambles to hide his map when Furiosa comes up behind him – like, I think he *wants* to trust her at this point, but can’t quite make that last leap.
  * Pretty sure the only times Furiosa brakes in the movie are for mechanical difficulties and to help Max out in that final fight
  * “Home. Get me home.” and Max’s frantic scrabbling for the blood tubing and “Max. My name is Max. That’s my name.” while he gently cradles her bruised face are absolutely the perfect storm for making me cry now. *broken sobbing over how far their relationship comes in this movie*
  * Max is so unfairly attractive in the last scene at the Citadel. Like, Furiosa is beat to hell with one eye swelling shut, and it is awesome and badass and I love her fiercely for still being on her feet at all; meanwhile, Max looks like someone carefully dusted him with hotness powder and lit him and his ridiculous mouth for maximum victorious pretty.
  * I can only approve.



 

* * *

I went to my probably-last theatrical viewing [writing from the future: HAHAHA yeah that was a lie] of Mad Max today (rain-proof has been working abroad and hadn’t seen it, I *had* to go again. For friendship. Obviously. *shifty eyes*), and it’s still amazing.

A few details I haven’t seen anyone else mention:

  * The War Rig’s wheels actually _come off the ground_ when Furiosa rams the pursuit car into the tornado, but luckily the Rig was too heavy to do more than that. Goddamn, that woman has nerves of steel.



[gif of a War Rig wheel lifting off the ground, while the escort care is sucked into the tornado]

  * The Dag bites her nails when she’s nervous. It’s pretty adorable.
  * There’s this moment that always cracks me up when Max is filing at his mask in the cab. The file is grating loudly in the audio and vibrating the metal around, and then the fuel pod starts dragging and the whole *cab* starts vibrating – and Max has this hilarious split-second _Is that me, or…?_ reaction face. It shouldn’t make me laugh because the poor guy has been hallucinating so badly that he clearly doubts his own perception – but his FACE. It’s priceless.



[gif of Max filing at his mask and then looking confused as the Rig starts to vibrate]

  * You can hear Angharad breathing in the scene right after she falls, when Joe is holding her and freaking out. She’s making this awful wheezing sound that I can’t unhear now that I’ve noticed it, so I’m making all of you join me in my pain. :(
  * Toast’s musicbox plays a tinny version of the music during the stargazing scene (“Many Mothers” on the soundtrack).
  * I’m always impressed by the sound design and music in the movie, but the silences are just as powerful. The way everything drops away when Max leaps out of the Citadel to catch that hook, when they cut away from the cacophony of the first War Party establishing sequence for that shot of the flares exploding, and so on. It’s a smart counterpoint to all the chaos and noise, to give you a chance to breathe and keep the audience from just starting to tune things out.




	5. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Collection of links in which I contributed meta to someone else's post/discussion, a few reference posts, and one lone gifset.

[Boltcutters for MVP](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204042849/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/120336459765/fury-road-boltcutters-for-mvp-x-x) gifset

  


**Food at the Citadel**  
[ Mother’s Milk is turned into cheese!](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204205159/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/121672584723/mad-max-with-its-visual-effects-worker): initial brainstorming about food sources  
[more food ramblings](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204205237/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/121964615375/more-food-ramblings): crops debate and agriculture with sandstorms  
[Citadel Sociology: An Army Moves on Its Stomach](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204205313/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/122474675890/citadel-sociology-an-army-moves-on-its-stomach): food and the power hierarchy  
[What does the Citadel do with dead War Boys](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204205323/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/123210878005/oh-boy): continuing discussion of cannibalism vs fertilizer and skin as leather

 

**Action, Violence & Trauma**  
[Un-heroic violence](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204211049/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/124960402895/un-heroic-violence-more-mad-max-fury-road): discussion of Max's fight with the Bullet Farmer  
[The Interceptor as a symbol of Max's trauma](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204212108/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/138492849805/fuckyeahisawthat-fadagaski-ecouter-bien) and why I think the Interceptor should stay blown up  
[Action breakdown of the Max vs Furiosa/the Wives vs Nux fight](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204212539/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/120226619655/briknerd-primarybufferpanel-cactusspatz)  
[Max spends the first half of the film acting like a nervous stray on the verge of fear-biting](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204212843/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/119922315215/out-there-on-the-maroon-verysharpteeth) & other thoughts  
[Max's evolving body language](https://web.archive.org/web/20190205010534/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/127246797864/slitthelizardking-flamethrowing-hurdy-gurdy)

****

********Worldbuilding & Reference**  
** [breakdown of Max's bloodbag tattoo](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204213056/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/119917175090/rockatanskis-maxs-back-tattoo-for-those)  
[‘the oceans dried up’ & Sydney Harbor in Thunderdome](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204212353/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/125542666515/on-the-third-movie-didnt-they-mention-that-the): note that this discussion got quite fractured and widespread; I just archived my contribution to it  
[character heights](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204213800/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/121755164615/mad-max-character-heights)  
[Parkour gardening lizards: Warboys & climbing around the Citadel](https://web.archive.org/web/20190205010436/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/123004283480/icarus-suraki-flamethrowing-hurdy-gurdy)  
[Fury Road and laughing gas](https://web.archive.org/web/20190205053806/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/128231835055/fury-road-and-laughing-gas) (plus the Bullet Farm as a mine) 

  


**Film Analysis**  
[Furiosa as a visual pivot when Max turns them back from the salt](https://web.archive.org/web/20190204213213/http://cactusspatz.tumblr.com/post/121362681110/primarybufferpanel-schwarmerei1-in-todays)


End file.
